| Graduate appointments in Parliament | Part II |
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Experiences of recent recruits House of Commons Library - continued Arabella ThorpI arrived in the Home Affairs Section of the Library in 1997, fresh out of music college where I had spent a year trying to decide whether or not to be a professional violinist. This followed my decision early on in my law degree that I definitely did not want to be a practising solicitor. So I was very pleased to have found a job that I actually did want to do, and where a wide range of interests and a slightly odd CV is a definite advantage! The variety and unpredictability of the job is one of its most appealing aspects. In one day, I might deal with enquiries both large and small on freemasons, child abduction, negligence, football, solicitors, witches, rape and coroners – and I thought I had been recruited as a specialist in family law and the civil justice system. It took me some time even to learn all the subjects on which I was alleged to be the ‘Library expert’. In the Home Affairs Section, as well as each dealing with a rather motley collection of subjects, we have perhaps a higher-than-average number of enquiries which stem from constituents’ problems. This was something that surprised me at first, and at times makes us feel rather as if we are being treated as a free legal advice service. A large number of our letters end by saying that the constituent really must see a solicitor rather than expecting his MP to wave a magic wand. A lot of our life is spent answering the telephone with one hand, whilst frantically trying to scribble down the details of an enquiry with the other. It can be surprisingly difficult to elicit what the Member really needs to know, and I found it very daunting at first to press for details - to explain why we couldn’t really produce a brief on ‘land law’ by lunchtime, and why that might not be quite appropriate anyway. We also have to learn to spot enquiries which come from students who want their MP to do their projects for them. However, one becomes more and more adept at asking the right questions and persuading Members that they don’t really need an answer for another couple of weeks. Two or three times a year (or more if we’re unlucky) we have to fit into our normal workload of enquiries the writing of a detailed research paper, either on a major piece of legislation or on a topic of more general concern. The Queen’s Speech each year is listened to with some anxiety as we wait to hear how many Bills are going to come up in our subject areas. Sometimes we have to work extremely quickly on a paper, and (as with other enquiries) simply have to do the best we can in the time available rather than producing a beautifully-structured in-depth analysis of the subject. But I find it very rewarding to have had the opportunity to get to grips with a subject in more detail than is usually possible. Although each enquiry and paper usually has a deadline, within that it is up to us to manage our time in whatever way suits us. I really appreciate this level of autonomy, as well as the fact that our letters and papers go direct to Members rather than having to be approved by twenty other people first. However, this does mean we have to get everything absolutely correct, as there’s no one else to take the flak. Of course at the beginning our letters are checked before they go out, and this, along with reading letters written by other people in the section, helps us to learn the ‘house style’. One aspect of this is the need to be totally impartial, setting out all the sides of an argument and making sure there is no appearance of bias. Sometimes this can be frustrating, but on the other hand I appreciate the fact that, unlike civil servants, we are not expected to play to the tune of whatever government is in power. We are very lucky with the resources available to us, both within the section and in the Library as a whole. Each day we are given folders of newspaper cuttings, journals, reports and so on to keep us up to date, and these (along with our answers to previous enquiries and a large collection of books and pamphlets) go on to form a fantastic archive of material. It was wonderful when I arrived, feeling I knew nothing, to be able to hunt through our files and then sound as if I knew what I was talking about. It takes time to find your way through all the sources of information available, but we are given helpful training on the use of our own databases and on other electronic sources including, of course, the Internet. We are also encouraged to go on any external courses which would be useful. For instance, I am off to Brussels for a week to see how the various institutions of the European Union work – and there should be some time for enjoying myself while I’m there! Although there is a wide variety of people working here, they are all friendly and open and extremely helpful to raw recruits. The perks of the job also include generous holidays as well as opportunities for career breaks, part-time working and job-sharing. I am sure that these are among the reasons that, if they haven’t left within six months, people generally stay here for the rest of their lives. An aspiring politician would probably be extremely frustrated by working here, but it is very rewarding for anyone who wants to make a much-appreciated contribution, at a high level of responsibility, to Parliament and its Members. |
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| © Parliamentary copyright 1999 | Revised 25 October 1999 |